TrainingPeaks
A powerful tool at your fingertips
For more than 10 years I have been dedicated to preparing people to achieve their sports goals. At that time not everyone had a heart rate monitor and the potentiometer had not even been invented. It was the time of excel and handwritten training agendas. Currently, however, there has been an explosion of applications and devices. These allow you to fully optimize the training schedule of a plan and analyze the data obtained during its execution. Thanks to this, it is easier to train and be trained at the same time as to achieve superior results.
The website and the application
TrainingPeaks is one of the best applications to program a training plan; link devices and applications and assess the degree of compliance; maintain high levels of commitment and motivation; be updated with the latest news and finally, that’s what it’s all about, achieve your sports goals.
In TrainingPeaks you can program your own plan or you can buy and download one in your calendar from the wide catalog of plans that are in the web environment of various trainers from all over the world.
Its use is very simple and intuitive and you just have to:
- Sign up, linking your device and configuring your training zones.
- Enter your competitions in the calendar or in the ATP (Annual Training Plan).
- Schedule your workouts or purchase and download a training plan.
For later:
- Go out and train with perseverance and dedication to achieve your goals.
- Download your sessions automatically after linking.
- Analyze your sessions using key metrics and evaluate progress.
TrainingPeaks has a free basic version that is perfectly operational to be able to carry out all these functions and also a Premium version with a reasonable annual cost that allows you to:
- Access the application for the general programming of the season (ATP).
- Change the order of future workouts.
- Have access to all graphs and performance analysis.
- Edit files, create work ranges and perform advanced training options.
- See peak performances.
When you sign up you have a 15-day trial in the Premium version, assess whether you need it and then decide whether to make the investment or not. My advice is that at first you use the basic version and as you train and learn more about the system, upgrade to Premium. It will be then when you will take advantage of it and not before.
Sign up, pair device, configure personal settings and training zones
The first thing you must do to sign up for TrainingPeaks is to access the new user registration form.
Follow all the steps to perform all the actions in the statement. Do not leave it for later since it is more difficult to find. This way you do it and forget about it!
If you need more information on how to perform these steps, please visit our detailed guides on how to sign up for TrainingPeaks and set up training zones.
If you want to know the importance of using a device to follow a training plan and later download the recorded data, visit our article on the use of technology in your training.
It is very important that you do this because in this way:
- The workouts you do with your device will automatically upload to TrainingPeaks.
- The workouts you program will be referenced to your physiological (heart rate) and performance (pace or power) values.
- You can analyze the workouts you do.
- You will be able to see the degree of compliance with the plan (red for sessions not carried out, orange for half done, yellow for quite a bit and green for perfectly executed).
- You will be able to evaluate the wear generated by each training session and calculate if it is enough to reach your goals.
ATTENTION! Do not enter any values if you do not know them precisely. Do a pre-test to know your maximum heart rate, your functional power threshold or your functional pace threshold depending on the activity in which you compete and train.
If you leave it for the following days or need to modify the values during the training process (it would be normal and desirable), go to your personal settings and modify it in the place where the following image shows you.
Competition calendar
From the initial registration and configuration process, a world of possibilities opens up. TrainingPeaks allows you to place the competitions you want to attend on the calendar.
To do so you must access your calendar and once there, simply click on the + that will be displayed when you hover over the day you want to add the competition to.
Next, TrainingPeaks will show you a pop-up window where you should choose the Event option and write the name, type and objectives of the competition.
Once the competition is added, it will be displayed on your calendar as shown in the following image.
If you have the Premium version you can configure the entire season not only with the competitions but also with the various training phases and the periodization methodology that you prefer through the ATP application.
Training schedule
Once the competitions and the various work phases of the season have been determined, it is time to go into the details of the daily sessions. To do so, you can take advantage of the training database that TrainingPeaks offers to all its users, schedule your own sessions if you have knowledge, or buy and download a training plan from a specialized trainer.
If you choose the option to buy a training plan, once you have purchased it, it is as simple as setting a start date or an end date that coincides with the competition you want to prepare and start training!
If you want to know the benefits of joining a trainer and planning your training taking advantage of their knowledge and experience, visit our article on how to get your training plan.
You’re not alone
The technology is fine but behind it are the people. Do not feel that you are alone.
For all the doubts you have in relation to TrainingPeaks you can use the HelpCenter or the personal attention service.
For all questions related to the training plan you can hire a consultation.
If you need any service related to sports medicine, nutrition and physiotherapy, send us an email to info@eduardbarcelo.com and we will direct you to the most trusted professionals with whom we collaborate.
Your goals are ours. Let’s go get them!